It is estimated that over two million individuals are incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails. In general, inmates that have been convicted of felony offenses serve longer sentences in prisons (e.g., federal or state prisons), whereas inmates that have been convicted of misdemeanors receive shorter sentences that are frequently served in local jails (e.g., county jail). In addition, upon being detained by authorities, an inmate may serve significant periods of time incarcerated in a local jail while awaiting release on bond and, in some cases, while awaiting trial. During all of these periods of incarceration, an inmate may have opportunities to communicate with the outside world.
By allowing inmates to communicate with friends and family while incarcerated, the justice system aims to facilitate their transition back into society upon release. Traditional visitation sessions provided by controlled-environment facilities include telephone calls and in-person visits. More recently, technological advances have allowed controlled-environment facilities to provide other types of monitored visitation sessions, including audio conferences, video conferences, video messages, email, and online chat sessions. More recently, visitation sessions may be conducted via portable communications devices issued to inmates on a temporary or permanent basis.
In addition to providing increased opportunities for visitations, additional services may be provided to inmates via an issued portable communications device. For instance, a portable communications device may provide residents with educational and counseling services. A portable communications device may also be used to provide residents with entertainment services, such as gaming services and access to digital content. The availability of such services may be limited based on bandwidth limitations within a controlled-environment facility. In many scenarios, the demand for wireless bandwidth within a controlled-environment facility far exceeds the bandwidth that is actually available.